The Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Attribution of Art Works

A novel aspect of this current text is the application of artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence (AI) computer programmes to analyse the facial comparisons between the artists’ models used in old paintings as this can provide a clue as to the identity of the model and also to the period of execution of the painting. By this means it was established unequivocally that the models used for the Madonna and Child in the de Brécy Tondo and in the Sistine MadonnaSistine Madonna were identical! This not only reinforced the suggestion that the Tondo was the study for the Sistine MadonnaSistine Madonna but that Raphael painted the two, with a probability of better than 97%. In a variant of the programme, the computer assimilates scientific data about the stratigraphic details of the painting, the brushwork, paint thickness and technique, which is what a connoisseur does but in a more subjective appreciation. This means that an objective appreciation of “stylistic values” for an art work can now be achieved. Comparisons are made for several case studies using a confirmed Raphael artwork database and some novel outcomes are registered which provide in some instances support for connoisseurial opinion and in others raise some further queries for future discussion. Some Raphael paintings that have been the subject of divided expert opinions and controversy are reviewed in this exercise and the results will be new to the art world.